Berlin 2024 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 20: Poster IIIa
BP 20.11: Poster
Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 11:00–14:30, Poster B
Tracking and analysis of active droplet dynamics: from image processing to synthetic biology — •Roberto Menichetti1,2, Matteo Scandola1, and Raffaello Potestio1,2 — 1Physics Department, University of Trento, Trento, Italy — 2INFN-TIFPA - Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, Trento, Italy
Active matter can harness energy from its surroundings and propel itself away from equilibrium, with its constituents absorbing energy from the environment and dissipating it, e.g. through motion or the exertion of mechanical forces. The investigation of these systems offers promising new perspectives on the field of non-equilibrium statistical physics, further paving the way for the design of innovative life-like materials and devices. In this work, we analyse the behaviour of a synthetic active matter system consisting of liquid droplet surfers whose self-propulsion decays over time [1]. By relying on a synergistic combination of techniques, such as computer vision algorithms for accurate droplet detection and analyses grounded on non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and graph theory, we quantitatively characterise all the stages of the dynamic evolution of the system, from its initial diffusive regime up to the generation of large clusters of droplets that appear as the activity wanes. The presented work showcases a comprehensive analysis of an actively evolving system, offering not only a general pipeline for the investigation of analogous problems, but also a deep perspective at the intersection between physics and synthetic biology. [1] Tanaka, S. et al., Phys. Rev. E 91, 032406 (2015).
Keywords: Active droplets; Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics; Synthetic biology